For decades, Pakistani and Indian prisoners have languished in each other’s jails chiefly because their governments are not willing to confirm their identity and nationality, setting in place the process that would bring them home. Despite an agreement reached on expediting the release of prisoners who had completed their sentences almost a decade ago, the problem continues. Currently, 25 Pakistani and 43 Indian civilians remain jailed in both countries, despite the agreement reached in August 2005 between the two countries, stating that both countries would release civilian prisoners on the date of each other’s independence days. The first batch of prisoners was released by on August 14 and 15, 2005. But this agreement, which gave some hope to the prisoners, ended after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 which raised tensions between the two countries to new heights. Though a list of prisoners held in Pakistan was sent by Islamabad to New Delhi on January 1, 2017, it is far from clear if these persons will be released. We also do not know what is to become of the 25 or so Pakistani prisoners in India. It should be noted that this figure, received last year, comes from only around eight of the 1387 Indian jails. It is therefore possible there are many other Pakistanis held in India.
What we do know is that at least four of the 25 Pakistani prisoners on the list are mentally disabled and reportedly are not even able to give their names or places of residence. Some were arrested in the 2000s, some far before that. Recently, the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, meeting in Karachi, raised the matter of Rubina Bibi, a young Pakistani woman detained in a Jammu jail since 2012 along with her four-year-old daughter. She had apparently been arrested after she was abandoned in New Delhi by her husband after travelling there for medical treatment, and left without any money or documents. Though her jail term ended in 2013, it has not been possible for her to come home because the Pakistan interior ministry has not confirmed her nationality. The interior minister is stated to be taking a personal interest in this case. But there are other cases as well, including the over 200 or so fishermen believed to be held in India after accidently strayed into enemy waters aboard their small boats. Last week, Pakistan released 218 Indian fishermen from its jails as a goodwill gesture. The fishermen will travel across the Wagah border back to their country. Another 100 Indian fishermen continue to be held because New Delhi has failed to confirm nationality. This is a problem that deserves urgent attention. It is a tragedy that there has been no action on it since 2008, with the current animosity between both countries further holding back the possibilities that these persons will be released. Innocent civilians should not become the victims of regional strife. All the prisoners, whether Indian or Pakistani, need to be sent home.